"Kido, could you answer the problem on the board?" Ms. Kokonoe asked after writing down the question.

Hyde could hear the murmurs around the classroom, not that he was surprised. Even after the improvements he's made, people still had assumptions about him. Even so, he's come a long way from not caring about his studies. He can only guess why his math and homeroom teacher put him on the spot like that.

He turned to Tsurugi and Orie, both of them gave Hyde an encouraging smile. With a nod, he got up and walked to the board.

x^4- 2x^3 - 3x^2 = 0

'Quadratics… So I do this?'

Hyde did the equation, remembering the tutoring he got from Orie and Ms. Kokonoe. This was just another barrier he had to get over to improve himself. Factoring out x^2, turning it into a quadratic equation, and then using the zero factor property to get his answer.

"X = 0, X = 3, and X = -1." Hyde wrote down his answer.

The petite teacher gave a beaming smile. "Very good, Kido. I knew you could do it."

Amongst the surprise looks, Hyde could see Orie and Tsurugi, both had proud looks on their faces. The boy couldn't help but smile back as he took his seat.

Classes resumed until it was the end of the day. Hyde's phone buzzed as he was packing his stuff. Upon opening his messages, he could see a text from Orie.

*Congratulations on your answer, Hyde. Sorry if this is sudden, but something came up regarding preparations for Friday Night. Could we meet up some other time?* was her text.

Hyde had a feeling what this meant and texted back.

*Of course. Don't overdo it, okay? Love you.* he replied.

A few seconds later, he got a response.

*I'll try. Thank you for worrying about me. Love you too.*

Hyde smiled and put away his phone.

"What's up, Hyde?" Awesome job on that problem!" Tsurugi put an arm around the blonde with a big grin on his face.

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Thanks. Little bummed that Orie had to leave already. Wanna walk home together?"

Now it was Tsurugi's turn to look bummed. "Sorry, but the student council is preparing a meeting toNight."

The boy got the message. The next Hollow Night is a couple days away. That was the reason Orie left right away. So far, Amnesia has still been radio silent ever since Paradox's defeat.

After making sure no passersbys were listening in, Hyde asked, "What's the EFG's stance with me?"

"You being my friend as well as stopping Paradox has painted you in a good light. Just keep being you and we should be fine," Tsurugi answered with confidence.

That made Hyde sigh in relief. He was already in a complicated situation dating a Licht Kreis executor so he was glad that he didn't have to worry about another organization.

"That helps a lot. How long will the meeting go?" The blonde asked.

"If all goes well, I'd say four hours," Tsutugi gave a resigned smile.

"Four?! That's a long time," Hyde could admire their determination.

"It's all for the sake of protecting the innocents. Now I just need to pick up Phonon. Wish us luck, pal!"

With a deep breath, the orange haired boy marched past Hyde, leaving the blonde to his thoughts.

'Phonon, huh? I remember facing her the last Hollow Night. Never would have thought she and Tsurugi knew each other.'

Part of him was a little worried how the student council would manage. He knew they were capable, but four hours was still a long time.

'Hm… I could do that.'

Upon leaving the school, he could see a reluctant Phonon being dragged in by Tsurugi and another EFG member, Komatsu.

"Ugh. Why do I have to go? I have plans tonight," Phonon groaned in annoyance.

"Hey now, you agreed to come back to the council to get stronger. That means you need to attend the mandatory meetings." Tsurugi responded.

"Besides, don't you want to make up for your loss against the Unknown Actor?" Komatsu added.

As if on cue, Hyde passed by the three, giving Phonon a chance to glare at the swordsman in question.

"Fine. I'll go. I did agree on coming back..." she said with a sigh.

Hyde saw the three walk past him and scratched the back of his head nervously. He can imagine her being quite the handful. At least she doesn't seem like a bad person. Overconfident, more than anything.

But, he had errands to run. Making his way to a local meat market, he used his surplus money to buy a large supply of chicken thighs. He would also stop by the grocery store to buy other ingredients he would need.

'It's for a good cause…' Hyde mentally cried as he forked over his money to pay for his order.

Upon arriving home, he could see Vatista sleeping soundly on the sofa. With a soft look, he placed a blanket on her and let the girl rest. Linne and Wald were absent, so he guessed they went out somewhere. That left him alone in the house, free to do his next order of business.

Placing the ingredients on the kitchen table, he wrapped an apron around him and looked at his kitchen setup. With a smirk, he was ready.

'Everything is all set. Time to get to work!'

Today's Dish: Fried Chicken Sliders

'In a bowl, add ½ cup low-fat buttermilk, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper. Mix them all well with a whisk.' Hyde did as followed until it became an orangish color.

'Cut your boneless chicken thighs into thirds and then bathe them in the bowl.' He did so with all his thighs until they were all covered in the seasoning.

'On a plate, add all purpose flour.' He now had a plate full of flour.

'Cover the chicken with the flour. Add more flour in case more chicken needs to be covered.' He did so with each thigh until all of them were white with flour.

'On a pan, put canola oil and begin cooking the chicken on medium heat for about 12-15 minutes or until they become a nice golden brown.' He flipped the chicken when needed as the boiling oil was cooking until they became that nice color.

'With a slider bun, place a chicken on the bun and place the other bun on top. You can add all kinds of toppings like lettuce or pickles but I'm just keeping it simple.' In front of him was a nice simple slider, perfect for a little pick-me-up meal.

And now for the fun part. Hyde looked at the wide array of slider buns and boneless thighs at his arsenal. He was not only making sliders for the EFG, but also for himself, Linne, Vatista, and Wald. He repeated these steps for who knows how long until he was satisfied at what he saw.

120 chicken sliders.

10 for himself, 10 for Linne, 10 for Vatista, 30 for Wald, and 60 for the EFG.

With a proud smile on his face, the meals were ready.

Placing the 60 sliders in a container, Hyde bolted out of the house. Linne and Waldstein just entered right when Hyde dashed out, leaving the two curious on where he was heading.

"That boy seems to be in a hurry. Did something happen?" Waldstein asked.

"I don't know, maybe-" Linne's thoughts were interrupted when she smelled the tasty aroma coming from the kitchen.

At that very moment, Vatista woke up from her nap and she, too, smelled the aroma. When the three went to check it out, they were shocked at what they saw. Three containers of sliders, each with their names on it.

"Hah! The boy has gone above and beyond this time!" Waldstein gave a hearty laugh. "I believe he was also carrying a large container with him." He said as he eyed the sliders in front of him.

Linne took one slider out and tried it. She immediately gave a happy look as the warm and tender flavor melted into her mouth. Vatista ate one and was able to express the most joy she could muster while Waldstein chowed down like there was no tomorrow.

Needless to say, the residents of the Kido household were very happy that evening.

"Let's see… should be around…" Hyde was going past the school hallway, searching for the student council room. After asking for directions, he was eventually able to find the door. "There it is!"

The boy knocked on the door and waited. He could hear some rummaging as footsteps were heard. The door opened showing Tsurugi who had an unusually serious expression. Almost like a switch, his face turned cheery when he saw Hyde.

"Hyde! What are you doing here? You came at a good time, We're on a break right now," Tsurugi said.

"Thought I could do something to help you all push through the meeting. Here ya go." Hyde handed the container of sliders to the student council member.

This made Tsurugi's eyes go wide. "You really did all this?!" He looked at the container. This was 60 sliders, all recently made.

"Yep." was his response.

"Well don't be a stranger, come in!" he let Hyde enter. His attention turned to the student council. "We still have a few more minutes for break time, Hyde here has made us a little pick-me-up!" Tsurugi announced.

Hyde placed the container at the central table, giving off a tasty smell to all the members in the room. One by one, each member looked starry-eyed at the fresh sliders in front of them. One such member was Phonon who caught a whiff of the aroma.

"Wait, Hyde made this?" Phonon asked, shocked.

"Oh yeah, I never told you that Hyde's an amazing cook." Tsurugi patted the blonde's back.

Her and the other members began eating and immediately started to feel recharged. Hyde was impressed at the number of people the EFG had. For this meeting, he would say roughly 30 were present. He was happy that he had enough for each of them in the room. He could see Phonon and Komatsu happily eating their meal, he could spot the student council president, Sakaki, who gave an approving nod. And next to him was a girl he did not recognize. She had long light blue hair tied in a ponytail and hazel eyes. Seeing everyone here reminded Hyde of what Yuzu said. About how people can be more than what they let on.

"Looks like everyone likes it. Thanks a bunch, Hyde!" Tsurugi said with a huge grin.

"Don't mention it. You've done alot for me, so it's the least I can do. I'll let you all focus on your meeting." Hyde said.

Before he left the room, he turned to Tsurugi. "Oh yeah, be sure to return the container when you can. Enjoy!" With a wave, Hyde left.

Phonon watched on with intrigue. "So he's more than just an idiot then." She munched on her slider and smirked. "Just you wait, Hyde. We'll settle the score once I get stronger."

Man, it got late fast. Hyde hurried back home as he could feel the weather getting chilly. With the Hollow Night coming, it also meant December was coming. Now the city was getting a lot colder which meant it was time to pull out the jackets. As for Vatista and Linne… He was considering asking Vatista to materialize jackets to see how they'd look, but they would cross that bridge when they got there.

Hyde returned home and gave a big stretch. It was a tiring evening, but he also felt satisfied. Seeing the people in the EFG happy gave him a warm feeling that made it all worth it. When he turned to the living room, he could see his fellow roommates all sleeping soundly, content with the meal they had.

"Heh, glad you all liked it." Hyde said as he munched on his own sliders.

All in all, it was money well spent.